Renault Symbioz Review 2024

The Renault Symbioz — and that’s Sam-bee-oz, if you wish to make best use of the remnants of your GCSE French skills — is the brand’s latest family-sized SUV. It’s a highly competitive market, not least within the marque’s own line-up, meaning it needs to be more than just good to succeed. Read our full Renault Symbioz review to discover if this SUV deserves to be on your shortlist.

Several of the Renault Symbioz’s many family SUV rivals are such strong sellers it’s impossible to venture down any British street without seeing one.

A Ford Kuga here, a Nissan Qashqai there, with many a Kia Sportage and Peugeot 3008 thrown in for good measure — and that’s barely scratching the surface.

It’s a tough market then, in which the company’s had mixed results so far, with the popularity enjoyed by the Qashqai-based Renault Kadjar eluding the larger, plusher Renault Koleos, itself sharing much of its hardware with the Nissan X-Trail. 

More recently, the firm’s elected to broaden its suite of SUVs to include the fully electric Renault Scenic E-Tech and Kadjar-replacing — and still Qashqai-related — Renault Austral. That’s straightforward enough, until you learn that the Symbioz is also based on the Qashqai.

If you’re a little confused, then don’t worry, because it’s a little odd to us too. Essentially the Renault Symbioz is a little smaller, a little sportier, a little less expensive and is hybrid-only — with some impressive economy figures to show for it.

Given the popularity of SUVs like this, Renault is covering all the bases and with only a 1.6-litre hybrid engine and a trio of easily understood trim levels to choose from, the Symbioz range makes much more sense in isolation. 

As well as 60mpg economy, it also brings a generous level of standard equipment to the table, with all models getting a 10.4-inch portrait infotainment touchscreen, digital driver display, LED headlights and adaptive cruise control among other features. Value is one of the car’s strongest points.

There’s a sliding rear bench to boost practicality, though the car’s slightly compressed size against some rivals does limit outright space. Despite Alpine badging on a few models, don’t expect a sporty drive either — the Symbioz aims straight down the middle of the road for driver appeal and has a slightly firmer ride than you might expect too. 

Nevertheless, it remains smooth to drive, if a little noisy at times, is smartly styled and feels like a high-quality product, as per Renault’s recent standard across its range, so there are plenty of positives.

Most families should be pleased with what the Renault Symbioz offers, although there’s nothing fresh or innovative that were once hallmarks of its family-focused models. Given none of its rivals do either, it’s unfair to mark it down because of corporate history — it’s a good all-rounder and should find favour with those who find the Renault Captur too small and the Austral a smidgen too large.

The Renault Symbioz handles about as well as you’d hope for or expect from a family SUV but rides less well than you’d hope for or expect. It neither shines nor disgraces itself on the road in a segment that has no real stand-out choices.

There is a veiled element of sportiness that comes with the slightly firm ride, possibly exacerbated by the Iconic Esprit Alpine’s 19-inch wheels, an inch larger than those on the base model. 

Since all Symbiozes get the same suspension setup, wheel and tyre size will be the main ride quality differential. On the 19s, the Symbioz generally behaves well but does feel a bit unsettled over crustier road surfaces — and there are a lot of those around these days.

It’s easy to drive too, neatly tracing whichever line you pick with the well-weighted but distinctly feedback-free steering, while the good forward visibility makes it an easy car to place, whether in town or on country roads. 

There isn’t much body lean and a few briskly-taken roundabouts reveal grip is more than up to the job for a family car. Just don’t expect fireworks or fun by virtue of the Alpine badging.

All Renault Symbioz models come with a 1.6-litre petrol full-hybrid system, whichever level of trims you opt for. 

The combination of the petrol engine, a pair of electric motors and a curious gearbox setup that combines a four-speed automatic with different ratios from the motors for six usable gears, results in 145PS of power, 149Nm of torque and a 0-62mph time of 10.6 seconds.

As the acceleration figure suggests, what comes across as a relatively modest output just about does the job. The all-important instant response is pretty good, as it is with most hybrids and full electric vehicles, so the Symbioz always feels punchiest at lower speeds.

It’s only when you call for more and bury your right foot deeper into the carpet that it begins to come up short, the engine waking up and spinning to surprisingly high revs, almost like a car with a continuously-variable transmission, to motivate you up hills and down motorway slip roads. 

It’s a relatively loud and not especially pleasant sound, though you only ever have to suffer it for short periods, as the Symbioz quickly quietens down once you back-off. Like most hybrids, it spends a reasonable amount of time with the engine off altogether, becoming admirably refined.

There is a Sport mode for quicker responses but no extra power, and a B mode for the for extra regenerative braking and near one-pedal driving — something we preferred using to the spongy-feeling brake pedal.

Safety body Euro NCAP has tested the Renault Symbioz and given it a four-star overall rating. That’s good but not as good as it could be, since five stars are the maximum.

Euro NCAP criticised the the Symbioz for ‘weak’ chest protection in an offset frontal impact and for the lack of a rear-seat child presence detection system. Actual child protection was deemed ‘good’ though.

Standard safety gear comprises of driver, passenger, side, head, and curtain airbags, several accident mitigation features including active emergency braking with cyclist and pedestrian detection, driver attention alerts, lane keep assist and speed limit alerts.

As you step up the range the pricier trim levels add blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, rear cross traffic alert and occupant safe exit alert. There’s also a configurable button for disabling any systems you find a little too cloying.

Front seat passengers get the best deal in the Renault Symbioz, with plenty of seat adjustment and a pair of genuinely comfortable perches, at least in sportier Iconic Esprit Alpine trim and plenty of positional choice for the steering wheel.

Look around and there are cubbies for various knick-knacks, including a usefully-sized one ahead of the gear selector for phones and cables, another in a nook below the gear selector also designed for a phone and some large door pockets which we didn’t attempt to fit wine bottles in but look like they’re just about good for it.

Things are less rosy in the rear. It’s not bad but as the Renault Symbioz is ever so slightly on the small side compared with its rivals, you pay a similarly small penalty in head and legroom. 

Fine for kids and adults up to average height should be comfortable enough, but taller front passengers will start to restrict the space behind for those of similar stature. Renault provides a sliding rear bench, which is most useful if your rear seats are empty and you can maximise the boot — it expands from 492 litres to an impressive 624 litres at its maximum.

Renault continues to make strides in its cars’ quality, most notably inside. One or two rivals might have the edge for truly touchy-feely plastics and an outright sense of solidity, but the sole thing we could find that felt flaky in the Symbioz was the slightly wobbly electric parking brake switch. 

Otherwise, the cabin felt well built, and while there are harder plastics in some places, important touch-points like the steering wheel, seats and minor controls are all nicely styled and appropriately trimmed.

There were no notable creaks or rattles out on the road either, despite the best efforts of a fairly firm ride. We can’t vouch how it might stand up to tens of thousands of miles and umpteen years but in the here and now the Renault Symbioz has the look and feel of a quality product.

Along with offering only one powertrain, the Renault Symbioz also has only one infotainment option, irrespective of how much you spend on one of the three trim levels. 

Happily, it’s a pretty good one, using a 10.4-inch portrait-orientated touchscreen in a conveniently high-up location on the dash and gets all the basics right: standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both wireless, along with wireless phone charging and a couple of USB-C ports.

Screen resolution is clear and seems happy to register the kind of hastily finger-jabbed inputs we’ve all got used to trying to operate touchscreens on the move.

That said, you don’t need to prod that much as there’s a handy ledge to locate your thumb while using the screen and Renault’s steering column mounted audio control stalk is present and correct too, and just as logical to use as various iterations of it have been for nigh-on 40 years.

We didn’t notice any real lag when swapping between screen displays with most functions being logically arranged and easily understood. 

Contrast that with the strange experience of engaging reverse to reveal one of the lowest-resolution back-up camera displays we’ve seen in years. More ‘what the heck?’ than high-tech.

Starting at £29,295 in Techno trim, the Renault Symbioz range steps up to £31,295 for Techno Esprit Alpine, topping-out at £33,295 for Iconic Esprit Alpine. 

By the standards of the class, this makes the Symbioz one of the more affordable and better value choices — few rivals offer a full hybrid model, certainly not one this economical, for similar money. 

In context, the Symbioz starting price is lower than the 15mpg less-efficient mild hybrid Nissan Qashqai’s while at 145PS the Renault’s more powerful than a similarly priced, less economical 116PS SEAT Ateca. What you see is what you get with equipment too: all are well-equipped, and the only real options are a range of relatively subdued colours.

One area hybrids really need to score is economy and the Renault Symbioz plays very well in that regard. 

Renault claims 60.1mpg, which is already ahead of most rivals, but even better, after a day of driving around along a mix of 50 and 60mph roads, through towns, up and down hills and being stuck in traffic, the trip computer showed 59.2mpg. It seems that even without concentrating on fuel economy, you can expect some impressive numbers.

Tax costs can’t match those of full EVs but CO2 of 105-108g/km means a £185 first-year bill and £180 thereafter, while those CO2 figures also mean a 26% BIK rate for company users — not at the top of the scale but again higher than an electric vehicle. 

Insurance groups of 16 and 17 put the Symbioz equal with mid-range Nissan Qashqais.

There’s a very straightforward tri-level specification hierarchy for the Renault Symbioz, so choosing the one that suits you most is a simple affair.

The range begins with the Renault Symbioz Techno, which comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED head and tail lights, a synthetic leather steering wheel, keyless entry and start, a 10.4-inch infotainment touchscreen, a 10.25-inch digital driver display, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, adaptive cruise control and a rear-view parking camera.

Stepping up to the Renault Symbioz Techno Esprit Alpine adds 19-inch alloy wheels, specific Esprit Alpine interior styling details, sports pedals, electrically adjustable and heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and an electrically operated tailgate.

Topping the range is the Renault Symbioz Iconic Esprit Alpine, which builds on the Techno Esprit Alpine trim with a glass roof with selectable opacity levels, a 360-degree parking camera, hands-free automatic parking and a nine-speaker Harman Kardon audio system. 

There are no notable options on any model but there is a choice of different colours, including a handful of whites, blacks, and greys, plus a red and both dark and lighter blues.